Austin Jackson's exit provides one last goosebump-inducing moment for Tigers

DETROIT >> There were plenty of moments in his short Detroit Tigers career, when Austin Jackson did something to raise goose bumps — or ‘chill bumps,’ as he calls them — for Tigers fans.

The catch in Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game. The throw to get the Indians’ Kosuke Fukudome at the plate, keeping Jose Valverde’s save streak intact.

Add one more to the list, one last “Oh, Jackson!”

It came in his last public moment as a member of the franchise, when he was pulled off the field just seconds before the trade deadline expired, removed in the middle of the seventh inning — in the middle of an at-bat, no less — and walking off to a standing ovation.

With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, and a 2-2 count on the White Sox’s Gordon Beckham, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus called time, and had a short discussion with home plate umpire Tim Welke.

“Dave (Dombrowski, the Tigers general manager) was right there in the dugout,” Max Scherzer said, “and he’s on the phone with the commissioner’s office, and he’s screaming, ‘You’ve gotta get Austin off the field! You’ve gotta get Austin off the field!’”

Seconds later, Rajai Davis came out of the dugout, and headed onto the field.

“I sensed it, and it was kind of an awkward moment right there, knowing that you’re running off, and that’s probably your last time in a Tigers uniform. ... Just kind of waiting to see where he was running. It was a situation I’d never been in, so I was definitely waiting it out, soaking in those last moments,” Jackson admitted.

“Once I saw Rajai come to the top step, I pretty much kind of knew what was going on. Just kind of a sad moment right there knowing that last run off the field, it was pretty tough with all your teammates that you played with.”

It was a surreal scene.

“It really was. That was the first time I’ve experienced anything like that, having to go get a guy because 4 o’clock’s five minutes away and you can’t risk having him on the field any longer to blow up an entire trade in the middle of an at-bat. It’s pretty intense,” Justin Verlander said.

“You have mixed emotions. I’m paying attention to the game a little bit, trying to check and see what’s going on with the trade deadline. I’m just as intrigued as everybody else. And Mr. Dombrowski is pretty tight-lipped. He doesn’t let anything leak. But you see him running out there and you think, ‘Oh, man, something happened.’ Well, there goes my brother running off the field. I know he’s going somewhere else. You definitely have mixed emotions.”

And the ovation?

What did that mean to Jackson?

“It definitely meant a lot. This is where I started,” he said. “I had a lot of good years here. And the fans have been great to me. Thanks for all the support they’ve given not only me, but the Tigers since I’ve been here.”

While there were some boos at times for Jackson, when his penchant for strikeouts got the better of him, there were plenty of times when he was cheered like he was Thursday.

“There’s a few (moments). It’s hard to just really go to one. Getting to play in the World Series here in my short career was probably the best moment that I’ve had here. The Galarraga catch. I get chill bumps when I see that still. When we beat the Yankees and seeing Coke point that ball out. I have a lot of good moments here and good memories. Go try to start it somewhere else now,” said Jackson, admitting that the postgame daze he was in hadn’t really allowed the news to penetrate all the way to his brain.

“I don’t think it has. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. But I think when I put that Seattle uniform on, I think it’ll turn the page and start a new chapter.”

“I talked to Lloyd not too long ago. He’s pretty pumped up. Me and him have a good relationship so I’m looking forward to getting back and working with him, and trying to help Seattle win,” Jackson said.

“I’m going to a team that is trying to get better. When I come back in a couple weeks, hopefully we don’t do too much damage.”